Counting and printing mechanism



y 1950 L. B. DUNCAN 2,506,072

COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 31, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.2.

Iuveutar Laura Blanchetfe Duncan May 2, 1950 B. DUNCAN COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 51, 1946 I11 uelltor Laura Blanchefie Duncan By WWW fifaw Fig. 4.

May 2, 1950 L. B. DUNCAN COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 31, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l5 m m w 1 t m .I m o I e a T a m mow K 3 m E n 4 Nm m M u. I m W a wm fl r W 3 m9 wm SQ j l mm L 0 m9 mm mm mm U I! /z mm 4 u M H Ll. .f PM Hl I mm 9 f Nm 1 W. mm m .k U NQ\ HUI Q\ m: mm mm mm g o: I mm 09 i h k J 5 mm Q [I m9 7 2 mm 6 P I I om E\\ T@ k v WP om R i 5 1 mm mk E l I May 2, 1950 L. B. DUNCAN COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 31, 1946 IIIZLIIIOI Laura Blancheffe Duncan B) am and 401 2: W Efizg Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Laura Blanchette Duncan, Miami, Fla. Application December 31, 1946, Serial No. 719,392

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a printing counter or counting and printing mechanism, and more particularly to such mechanism adapted for general use such as to be utilized in diaper laundries or otherwise, for counting diapers or other articles which are contained in a batch, and especially articles of the same kind, so as to assist in the counting, printing and pricing of the laundry on laundry slips and for totalizing a days business, or for other known periods.

The primary object of this improvement is to record in detail the mechanism and arrangements of the printing counter encased as shown in Figure 1, and which forms part of the whole of the diaper counting machine, so that it may be marketed aside and apart as a self entity for any other purpose whatsoever.

The invention is an improvement upon the device shown in my prior application Serial No. 620,299 filed October 4, 1945, and relates more particularly to an electric eye mechanism, by which the diapers or other articles are counted as they are distributed into trucks or other containers for further processing.

Another object of the present improvement, is to eliminate the necessity of employing a hopper and bafile plate at the end of the conveyor, by which the articles are counted by checking the travel thereof and causing them to drop to a point beneath the truck or receptacle to intercept the light rays of the electric eye cast upon a photosensitive cell, to actuate an electrically operated counting mechanism or counter, by which the number of articles is totalized and ascertained.

The invention further consists in so mounting the electric eye that the light rays therefrom impinging upon the photosensitive cell, is positioned within the length of the conveyor so as to be intercepted by the articles as they are carried up the conveyor after being sorted and distributed upon the conveyor, for discharging the same into the trucks or receptacles because natural gravitation of the articles falling at the end of conveyor was too slow and had a tendency to permit several articles to bog together when speed of conveyor was heightened or increased.

It is therefore an important object of the invention, to provide a novel arrangement of electric eye upon the conveyor for conveying the 2 soiled diapers or the like to the trucks and means associated therewith and actuated thereby, whereby the diapers or other articles being conveyed for distribution to the trucks may be counted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable diaper counting mechanism which may be readily moved about from place to place where it is desired to use the same, and upon which the diapers or other articles may be placed from a sorting table, by an operator and counted as they are conveyed to the trucks, the electric eye mechanism serving to interrupt the ray of light which is played upon the photosensitive cell, so that an electromagnet is intermittently energized and de-energized to actuate the counter for giving the total number of articles conveyed and distributed to the trucks.

A still further object of the invention, is to provide novel driving connections by which the counter is actuated, by the electrical pulsations or interruptions to the flow of current caused by the diapers or other articles passing the electric eye mechanism during the conveyance thereof, and for resetting the counter back to zero, so that each batch of articles may be separately counted to facilitate checking of the number of articles and the making out of the laundry slips as well as in counting for the cost thereof or charges to be made for the laundering of the different batches, and the total business transacted during a day or other definite periods.

Another and still further object of the invention, is to provide an electrically actuated counter mechanism having novel drive means as well as novel resetting means, and in which an ink take is provided for number wheels by which the recording of the number of articles may be stamped on cards or slips therefrom, and in which the entire mechanism is visible at all times during the operation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which is extremely compact, and adapted to be mounted upon a wheeled frame supporting a tiltable conveyor belt, the angle of inclination of which may be readily adjusted or varied as desired.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a glass enclosure for the counting and stamping device and mechanism, with the operating handle and card insertion slot.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the case, with the mechanism in elevation, taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the case with the mechanism in elevation, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the complete conveyor mechanism showing the location of the electric eye and counting and stamping device.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the case, with the mechanism in elevation, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section; of the stamp: ing hammer, guide and card slot, with the counting device in elevation, taken onthe line fi ii of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a transverse section of the stamping hammer, ribbon guide, card slot and counting device, taken on the line 7-4 of Figure 2 and Figure 8, is a fragmentary plan view of the conveyor, showing the relation of the electric eye and photosensitive cell of the counting and stamping device operating mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and referring more particularly to Figures 4 and 8 of the drawings, there is generally indicated at W, a supporting base or platform of a portable type, preferably wheeled, carried on casters or rollers ll,

preferably swiveled to turn in order to guide the Brackets l4 carry the extremities of a pivot shaft or axle I5 in the bearings thereof, which pivotally support a frame generally indicated at It, adapted to carry a conveyor belt mechanism generally indicated at IT.

The ra e 16 o the co n u tw paced pa a e al g e suppor ng m s 1 ro id d a e r e ren iesv with aligned journals l9 and 26 respectively, which journals carry axl s 2i and 2, espect vely, wh ch, in rn support rollers 23 and 26 respectively. An endless conveyor belt 25 extends about the rollers 23. and 24, supporting guide rollers 26 being provided at suitable spaced intervals under the upper portion of the convey r belt and journaled in the side walls of the frame, if desired to support the upper lap of the endless. conveyor belt movably thereon. The conveyor belt is adapted to. be driven in any suitable manner, as shown and described in my prior application above referred to, by means of a motor driven pulley and belt, or otherwise so as to continuously move the upper lap of the belt in an upward direction upon the inclined endless conveyor and frame thereof as des ri Side plates 21 may be provided at opposite sides of the conveyor frame l6, against which the soiled diapers or other articles to be laundered and counted in the process of conveying the same to the wheeled trucks orreceptacles at the upper discharge end of the conveyor, may be thrown and guided although only one of such plates is ordinarily necessary as shown, at the far side of the conveyor, against which the articles may strike when picked up by the operator from a distributing table, and placed or thrown upon the conveyor, to insure the same being carried upwardly through the discharge end of the conveyor for deposit into the receptacles of the wheeled trucks or otherwise.

Means may be provided for varying the angular adjustment of frame it, and hence its associated conveyor belt, and such means may take the form of tubular standards 28 pivotally secured as at 29, to suitable bearing brackets attached to the base ill at the front. end thereof and within which ar slidably mounted rods 36 capable of vertical adjustment by means of a series of holes 32 in each rod adapted for engagement by a pin 3!, and pivoted to hangers or bracket arms 33 secured to the sides of the frame l6. That is, each member 3% is provided with a plurality of apertures therein and is slidabl within the member 28 of tubular form as shown and described, so as to secure the necessary adjustment by means of the pin 3% whieh is passed through suitable apertures in the tubular member 215 and adapted to engage in a selected one of the apertures 32 in the member to hold the conveyor mechanism in anydesired angular position or angle of inclination with its discharge end uppermost and its feed end lower-most where the plates or plate 2? is provided. Usually, a distributing table is placed adjacent the feed end of the conveyor, to receive the diapers or other articles which are picked up by the operator and deposited onto the conveyor or merely thrown against the plate or shield li t, to drop onto the conveyor to be carried upwardly to b counted and to actuate the counting mechanism as they pass the light rays of the electric eye, mechanism and intercept the impingement of the light ray from the light source, onto the photoelectric or photosensitive cell at the opposite side thereof This arrangement will be more fully described hereinafter, and it is also noted that a hopper and baffle board or plate at the discharge end of the cony rr p ed in e. p or construction, s. entirely omitted in the present device, and the, disc a e nd of th co veyor eft. fr e y enen and u e s ue l so. a the art cles may b d schar d r fr and f d into the usual wh l d laundry Zlucks or the like, without striking an electric cell on the other side; ereof, so that the light ray or beam cast across the frame and conveyor from the light source 34 to the photoelectric or light sensitive cell 35,, will strike the latter and maintain a certain resistance operative position of the electrical circuit and mechanism mounted thereby, but will be intermittent- .ly and successively interrupted by the articles passing the light source and cell, causing interupti f he l ht ays or beam, or b eakin thereof, so that the photosensitive or photoelectrical cell, will be caused to intermittently energize and r le-energize a magnet, or other electrical mechanism in the circuit for operating a counting and printing mechanism to be hereinafter more fully described.

The photosensitive cell 35, constitutes a photo switch which is connected to the light source 34 as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings by conductors 35 and 31 and the light beam is indicated at B. The photosensitive cell or switch 35 is in turn connected by conductors 38 and 39 to a relay or relay switch 40, one contact of which is connected to the conductor 36 as at 4| through a conductor 42 which is in turn connected to one side of a battery or other source of electrical energy 43, while the other side of said battery or source is connected by a conductor 44 with the conductor 31. The other contact of the relay switch is connected by a conductor 45 to one terminal it of a solenoid s1, and said other side of battery or source 43 is connected by a conductor 48 to the other terminal is of said electromagnet or solenoid housed within a counting and stamping device generally indicated at 50. A cable 5! containing the conductors 45 and 48 leads to the relay 40, from which a cable 52 containing the conductors 36 and 31 leads to the light source 34. An extension cord or cable 53 containing the conductors 1H and 42, 44, leads from the relay 4!! and is provided with a plug 54 for connecting to the source of current or the battery 43, as by plugging it into a wall socket of the wiring of a building.

The counting and stamping device 55 is mounted upon a suitable shelf 55' supported by braces 56 on the uprights l2 and it includes a base 5? on which is mounted a casing 58 of glass or other transparent material reinforced at the edges or corners by metal bands or a frame 59', and having through its front panel a horizontal card insertion slot 50 and a Vertical slot 52 in which is vertically movable an operating handle El as shown more particularly in Figure 1 of the drawings.

For the most part, the counting device may be of conventional construction modified in a manner to be hereinafter described, in reference to the novel actuating means and resetting mechanism constituting a part of the present invention, so that when the counter has been operated by the articles intercepting the light beam B between the light source 34 and the photoelectric cell or switch 35 in being carried upwardly for discharge into the wheeled truck by the conveyor H, the relay will be intermittently actuated to successively make and break or intermittently interrupt the circuit to the electromagnet or solenoid 41 for actuating the counting and stamping device. The counting device proper has a plurality of number wheels 55 geared together or operatively connected with the usual decimal arrangement, in units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc., each bearing characters from 1 to 9 and zero and being in the form oi disks as shown mounted upon a shaft 56 from one end of which the usual reset knob is removed and substituted by a pinion 51 engaging rack 58 slidable in a guide 59 mounted at one end of the counter, transversely beneath the resetting shaft 56 of the counter. The counting device may be of conventional construction, such as the Veeder or Veeder-Root counter, except for the replacement of the resetting knob by the pinion 51 and has the usual number wheels 55 which are operated by the solenoid 41 and given a step by step motion by reason of the fact that articles passing before the electric eye cause the relay 40 to intermittently energize and de-energize the solenoid or electromagnet 47. A conventional typewriter ribbon 61 is fed from the spools 62 and 63, the shafts 64 of which are journaled in bearings 65 carried at opposite ends of an angle iron frame member '56 extending transversely of the case and supported on the base 57' by a bracket 61 secured to the base and the angle iron 66. The ribbon 6| passes over the number wheels 55 and over smaller guide and tension spools 68 in line with the bottom of the slot 6!! and maintained thereby flush with a lower guide plate 69 flared outwardly at the slot and extending over the number wheels, at which point it is provided with a slot 10 for the ribbon 6| of the inked type similar to that used in a typewriter. The angle iron 55 also supports a top plate 'il above the plate 69, in line with the slot 55', forming a guide slot for the insertion of a card on which the number of articles of a batch to be washed, in a particular laundry order, is adapted to be stamped. The upper guide plate ii is spaced from the lower guide plate '59, and is provided with a slot 12 above the slot l0, ribbon 6i and number wheels 55 of the counter, and is anchored on a strip or block 13 bolted or otherwise secured to the angle iron member 66.

Positioned on the upper guide plate TI is a stamping hammer guide 14 slotted vertically at the front and back, as indicated at T5 to permit vertical movement therein, of the member 16 of the operating lever which has the stamping hammer or plunger 17 pivotally and slidably connected thereto as at 18 in a slot 79 to compensate for various angular relations between the hammer and the lever which is provided with the operating handle Si extending through the slot 62 of the case for manually depressing the same by hand. The lever member 16 is pivotally mounted at its lower inner end portion, as indicated at all on an upright bracket or post 81 so as to permit operation of the hammer or plunger in the stamping hammer guide which is held normally upwardly under tension of a spring 82 operatively connected to the rearwardly projecting end of the lever member 16. The spring 812 is used in association with a dash pot, or conventional snuffer or hydraulic check 82', it being understood that the lever member 15 is free to move down in the stamping action against the tension of the spring but checked in its return movement to cushion the action and avoid jarring the counter wheels out of alignment. As will be noted, the ribbon 6| through which the numbers of the number wheels are printed on the card, passes over the number wheels flush with the guide plate 59 and is intermittently fed step by step, through the medium of a feed shaft 83 journaled in bearings 84 on the angle plate 55, through the medium of a ratchet disk 85 fixed to the feed shaft 83 and engaged by the ratchet head 8'6, said ratchet disk and ratchet head being held between collars 8! on shaft 83, and the ratchet head being pivoted at its hub on said shaft and having a lever or arm 88 pivoted at 89 to a link in turn pivotally connected at its upper end to a transverse pin 9| carried by the operating lever between its pivot 89 and the stamping hammer ll and operable by the hand lever 6!. The shafts 64 carry bevel gears 92 adapted to be selectively meshed with the bevel gears 93 having their hubs splined or keyed on the shaft 83 for feeding the inking ribbon 6! over the number wheels operated by the solenoid 41 in a step by step motion by the articles passing before the electric eye. By reason of ano es-2 "7 the ratchet means and gears as shown and described, the ribbon is fed from one spool to the "other and intermittently advanced step by step by the ratchet means operating the feed shaft 83 to simultaneously operate the ribbon spools. The feed shaft 83 may be slid'ably mounted, with one end thereof projecting outwardly "of the case and provided with a finger knob 94., whereby either one of the gears 93 may be placed in mesh with one of the gears 92 for the purpose 'of revers'ing the direction of the feed of the ribbon, although the shaft 83 is preferably stationary and the gears 93 shifta'bl'e by having their hubs or sleeves 95 engaged by 'forks 96 extending upwardly from a shiftable rod 9? positioned horizontally beneath and parallel to the shaft 33 in bearings 98 so that the spools may be reversed by shifting the rod 9? beneath the shaft 83, sliding one gear into mesh and the other out through the medium of the operating knob "or button 94 positioned outside of the case 50. The small guide spools or rollers 68 are mounted on shafts 99 carried by bearing brackets I08 supported on the angle plate '66 and are idlers between which the stretch of inked ribbon M is horizontally positioned to pass through guides Nil. These guides are positioned on opposite sides of the counter '60 above the bottom guide plate 69 and on each side of the slotted guide 1 5.

The pivot pin sl projects laterally of the other side of the lever It and pivotally carries a depending cu'rved arm Hi2 ipivotally connecting at its lower end at 1'63 to the short arm of a bell crank lever its pivoted at Hi5 on a bracket 1% supported on the base 51, the arm or link 32 being curved rearwardly as shown. The other or longer arm of the bell crank lever 184 is 'pivotally connected at in? to a rod or link I88 in turn pivotally' connected at H 89 to the rear-end of the rack 58. As the operating lever is depressed, the ribbon will be fed by turning the shaft 83 driving the spools 52 and as through the gear drives by means of the ratchetmechanisms EE-and 85. The counter is intermittentlyoperated by interrupting the light beam from the light source 35 to the photoelectric cell and switch 35 and through the relay til, to close and open the circuit to the solenoid or electromagnet 4'! to advance the numbers of the number Wheels to give a total of the number of articles or diapers in a batch of laundry automatically, as the articles are carried up the conveyor for discharge into the wheeled trucks or baskets. Then, by inserting a card inthe slot 9, and operating the handle 6! of the lever 76, the stamping mechanism is operated by lowering the hammer or plunger" in the stamping hammer guide M to press the card against the ribbon 5i and the digits on the numbering \Vhfi61355, to print the number of articles thereon as thus totalized. Since ther'ack 58 is advanced each time the pinion 51 is turned with the numbering wheels, upon downward movement of the operating lever, the rack'58 will be shiftedin the opposite direction to reverse the rotation of the pinicnand the numbering wheels, for resetting the counter upon th upward movement of the operating lever after printing the total number of articles on the card. An adjustable stop lug in the form'of a'screw i threaded through a bracket HI on the bracket or post 8| and adapted 'to "be held by nuts I I2 on opposite-sides thereoLserves-to engage there'ar end of the long arm of the bell crank I 9 at its connection withthe rod or link 108, fo'r the purpose 0f determining and regulating the proper movement of the rack 58. Thus, without checking the movements of the diapers or other articles when they reach the discharge end of the conveyor, but merely by intercepting the light beam from the light source to the photosensitive cell and switch between the sides of the frame of the conveyor and above the endless member there- 'of, the counter is automatically actuated intermittently as the articles pass, to give an accurate total of the number of articles in a batch of laundry. This obviates the necessity of providing a baifle plate or board and hopper, for checking the discharge of the articles tending to .permit several articles to bog together because natural gravitation of the articles was too slow when the speed of the conveyor was heightened or increased, as well as clogging of the hopper in discharging the articles from the conveyor and advancing the counter wheels or disks with the numbers thereon, to give the proper total by the stamping mechanism pressing the card against the number wheels and digits thereof, with the intermediate inking ribbon described. When one end of the ribbon is reached, the feeding thereof may be easily reversed by shifting the rod 53? and the gears to reverse the feed of the ribbon. The securing means ior the top plate H of the guide slot in which the card is inserted, is indicated at H3. 7

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in the art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended -by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

I'claim:

1. In combination, a counter including typecarrying counting wheels, an electro-magnet operable to intermittently-advance said counting wheels, and a shaftjope'r'a'ble to reset said counting wheels to zero, an inking "ribbon movable across said counting wheels, means to guide a record card into position over the counting wheels and the inking ribbon, a vertically reciprocable hammer movable downwardly to press the record {card against the inking ribbon and impress the 'inkingribbon on the counting wheels, a vertically swingable handlever for moving said hammer downwardly, spring means for "raising said lever and-said hammer means operated by said hand lever for advancing the inking ribbon when said harid lever is raised and means operated by said hand lever'ior operating said shaft to reset the counting wheels to zero when said hand lever is raised.

2. The constructiondefined in claim 1, incombination with manually operable means for reversingthe ribbon advancing means.

3. The'censtruc'tiondefined in claim 1, wherein said means for operating said shaft comprises a pinion fixed'therecma rack barrneshing with said pinion, a bell'c'ranic lever, a link connecting one arm-of said beilc'rank lever to said rack bar, and a second link "connecting said "hand lever to the other arm of said'bellcrank-lever.

4. The construction defined i'n claim 1, wherein said means for advancing the inking ribbon com- 'prise's a feed shaft, a ratchet device for turning said feed shaft including a ratchet head h'a'ving 0 an arm operatively connected to the hand lever, UNITED STATES PATENTS shafts carrying spools onto which the inking Number Name Date ribbon may be selectively wound, and manually 1,063,272

. McCabe June 3, 1913 operable means to selectlvely operatively connect 1 284 430 Norton Nov 12 1918 the feed shaft to the shaft of either desired 5 130O909 Wilson 1919 11720 195 Steiner 1:11:11? Jui 9' 1929 LAURA BLANCHETTE DUNCAN- 2,122,710 Bidwell July 5, 1933 2,127,243 Berck Aug. 16, 1938 REFERENCES CITED 2,153,185 Harrison Apr, 4, 1939 The following references are of record in the 10 2,293,934 Cooper Aug. 25, 1942 file Of this patent: 2,340,634 Wiley Feb. 1, 1944 

